Leading the Diffusion of Intellectual Capital Management Practices in Science Parks

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This issue is becoming important in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), as intellectual capital is likely to be the key source of competitive advantage (European Commission, 2006; Huggins & Weir, 2012). SMEs generally have advantages over established companies in terms of learning (Davenport, 2005; Lee et al., 2010). In order to prevent science parks from becoming just real estate brokerage entities, managers and policy makers need to undertake a range of boundary-spanning activities to optimise the mobility of intangible and tangible knowledge and resources. This notion reflects the fact that science park management could, and should, harness ideas for strategic change when they seek to unleash an SME’s entrepreneurial potential. This chapter explores the ways in which leadership interventions in science park ecosystems may orchestrate tenants’ management insight and strategic foresight. It also outlines their contributions to the development of ICM practices in SMEs by propagating co-specialisation opportunities whilst understanding the cognitive consonance of the various roles played by tenants and other stakeholders in the science park ecosystem, not simply by resource or geography.

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